What has been your business/work highlight of 2024 so far?

Who is your business hero and why?

This is a very difficult question to answer as I have so many! From my mother, who epitomised a powerful woman in business at a time when they were few and far between, to my father, who proved that it’s ok to take risks in business and your life if it will ultimately take you to a better place, to countless mentors and colleagues I’ve had the privilege to work with over the course of my career so far. I’m also incredibly inspired by women like Coco Chanel, who not only transformed an industry but also irrevocably changed the business world for women. She is someone who found confidence and success but then used it to empower others. What’s more heroic than that?

What’s the biggest business mistake you’ve made and what did you learn from it?

This is another difficult one as admittedly, there have been many. The silver lining, though is that every mistake or misstep only makes you a better leader. My biggest mistake, however, was unconsciously excluding myself from certain conversations when I was early in my career. I distinctly remember one meeting full of executives from both the company I worked for and the customer we were meeting with. Rather than take a seat at the table, I opted for one on the edge of the room. It took a mentor of mine to bring this behaviour to light, but it’s a mistake I’ve learned from and hope others can learn from as well. You are in the room because you have something valuable to contribute, so take your well-deserved seat at the table.

What’s the most inspirational book you’ve ever read and why?

The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Anchor. I had the opportunity to hear Shawn Anchor speak, and after listening to his session, I immediately bought his book. It’s so insightful and also inspired ideas and tactics I still use with my teams today.

What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role in 2024?

As a principle, I always like to think of things as opportunities versus challenges. The biggest one I think we are all facing this year is just two letters – AI. The pace of change around AI is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before, and we all need to find new ways to stay ahead of it. In addition, there are so many ways to apply AI that it can be distracting at best, and paralyzing at worst. The opportunity in CX is to help customers determine which business outcomes they are looking to impact with AI, and then identify specific, focused applications and use cases to implement.

What technology will have the greatest impact on your business this year and why?

I have to come back to AI once again on this one. Although it’s probably the most obvious answer, it is undoubtedly the technology that will have the most impact on the customers my team works with and also on how we work internally. It is already enabling my teams to spend more time on work that matters, i.e. spending time with our customers and less time searching for information and catching up on things they missed. And for the customers I work with, AI is a CX game changer when applied intentionally. AI can help them with many different aspects of their customer service strategies, from reducing repetitive, manual tasks for their agents and ultimately delivering better experiences for their customers.